Door-latch



H. BLYE.

DOOR LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, IQIB- Patented July 22, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

H. BLYE.

DOOR man.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV-13, 19 ]8. 1,310,600. Patented July 22, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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f4 im/2 ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD BLYE, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL BRASS ('10., OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

DOOR-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 22, 1919.

Application filed November 13, 1918. Serial No. 262,379.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD BLYE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in' the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to door latches and is principally concerned with the production of a latch capable of application to swinging doors and which is adapted to be applied to doors which swing in either direction, to the right or to the left and this without change in the structure of the parts which make up the latch. Another object of the invention is the production of a latch which may, without change of structure, be applied to doors of different thicknesses, the latch, in efi'ect being of universal application to doors. A still further object is to make a latch almost entirely of sheet metal, the cost of manufacture beinggreatly reduced together with a reduction in weight of metal needed. While a still further object is to produce a latch which can be very easily assembled and which will work very easily after assembly and attachment to a door in Working relation thereto. All of these features of novelty and utility as well as many others not at this point specifically enumerated will appear as understanding of the invention is had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a fragmentary part of a door and jamb therefor, the latch structure being also partially shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a'longitudinal horizontal section through the bolt and housing portions of the latch.

Fig. 3 is an edge view and Fig. 4 a front View of a fragment of a door, my invention being applied-thereto.

Fig. .5 is an edge view and Fig. 6 a plan of a fragment of the door jamb with the strike attached thereto.

Fig. 7 is a bolt housing.

a Fig. 8' is a side elevation of the housing showing the side opposite that shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the operating knob and attached parts. 1 Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1010 of Fig. 11 is a plan, Fig. 12 an under plan and Fig. 13 a front View of the latch bolt.

Like reference characters referv to like parts in the different views of the drawings.

The latch is applied at the free vertical edge of a swinging door, such as shown in fragmentary form at 1 and which, in closed position comes adjacent a door jamb 2, to which the strike 3 is secured by means of screws or similar suitable attaching devices. An opening 4 is made through the strike which is in the form of a flat metal plate and under such opening 4: a part of the jamb is removed as indicated at l to receive the end of the latch bolt as will later appear. The front portion of the strike plate extends slightly beyond the front side of the door jamb and is bent at an angle as shown at 5 making an inclined face on which the latch bolt rides in closing the door.

The latch includes a housing 6 formed from sheet metal and substantially square in cross section, which at its front end is open and provided with upper and lower ears 7. Afhole is bored or otherwise made at the free vertical edge of they door extending horizontally inward into which the housing is inserted until stopped by the ears 7, screws or other fastenings passing through the ears into the door. The housing is made from a single blank of sheet metal formed as shown and its rear end is closed by a strip of metal bent across it. In the front and rear sides of the housing two openings 8 and 9 are cut, the first being circular in form while the latter is nearly circular, having a tongue 10, projecting into the opening at one side and then turned inward as shown at 11 in Fig. 2 to engage with the latch bolt and keep the same from disengagement from the housing when the construction is shipped to the users thereof.

perspective view of the latch The latch bolt 12 is inserted into the open end of the housing. It, likewise, is formed from a single blank of sheet metal formed into a relatively long bolt substantially square in cross section except at its outer end where it is made with an inclined rear face 13 adapted to ride over the inclined part 5 of the strike plate. In its front and rear sides openings 14 are made the ends of which may also be curved and from the upper side of the bolt a tongue of metal 15 is struck extending through the bolt and entering at its free end into an opening 16 in the under side of the bolt. The bolt is normally impelled in an outward direction by a coiled spring 17 located in the housing and bearing against the inner end of the bolt. The part 11 of the tongue 10 extends through one of the openings 1A to stop the outward movement of the bolt.

A transverse opening 18 is bored through the door through which and the openings 8 and 9 of the housing and the openings 14: of the latch bolt the bolt operating member of the latch may pass. This member comprises a bar of flat metal 20 passing through a plate 21 and then formed into a curved section 22 having its outer surface with substantially the same radius of curvature as the openings 8 and 9. The end of the bar 20 is permanently attached to any suitable operating knob 23, the plate 21 being located between this knob and the curved section 22 so as to be permanently attached to the operating member.

The latch is shipped in two parts, the housing and bolt assembled as shown in Fig. 2, and the operating member and face plate 21 together as shown in Fig. 9. In applying the same to a door, the necessary openings are first bored therein and the housing with the bolt inserted and secured in place, after which the curved section 22 is passed through the openings 18 in the door and the openings 8, 9 of the housing and openings 14 of the bolt until face plate 21 comes against the front of the door when it is permanently secured to the door. In this connection it will be noted that the part 22 may be inserted through the latch even if it is applied to doors of widely varying thicknesses making the latch one having a wide field of application. It will also be noted that the operating knob can be turned in either direction to operate the bolt making it available for either right or left swinging doors. Furthermore, from the construction described, the bolt may be retracted against the force of the spring without in any Way affecting the operating member and attached knob, this making possible the shutting of a door equipped with my latch without any movement being imparted to the operating member, the

operation of the bolt alone being much more easily performed than if it were so connected to the operating member that both,

necessarily would have to move together at all times. The bolt is retracted against the force of spring 17 by the engagement of either the upper or lower edge of the curved section 22 against the tongue 15 when the knob is turned in either direction and the section 22 has bearing against the curved edges of the openings 8 and 9 in the housing. The tongue 10 acts as a stop to limit the extent of turning movement which can be given by the knob 23.

The latch is of simple structure and works perfectly in all respects. It can be manufactured at a very low cost and assembled without hand operations or skilled attention. It is of universal application and has no delicate construction liable to get out of order.

I claim:

1. A door latch comprising an elongated housing open at one end, and having opposed openings through the front and rear sides thereof with a tongue extending into one of said openings at one sidethereof, a latch bolt located in the housing having one end normally projecting beyond the open end of the housing, said bolt also having openings in the front and rear sides thereof, a spring located in the housing and bearing against the inner end of the bolt, a curved operating member passing through the openings in the housing and bolt and adapted to be turned in either direction about a horizontal axis to operate on the bolt to move the bolt against the spring, said tongue acting as a stop to limit the rotative movement of said member, and an operating knob secured to said operating member.

2. A door latch comprising an elongated housing open at one end and having opposed openings in the front and rear sides, a hollow bolt of sheet metal located in the'housing and likewise having opposed openings in its front and rear sides, a tongue struck in from one side of the bolt positioned vertically in the bolt across the openings therein, and an operating member extending transversely through the openings in the bolt and housing and bearing against the tongue in the bolt to move the same in one direction on turning movement of the opcrating member in either direction, substantially as described.

3. In combination, a door, a housing set in a vertical edge of the door, a hollow sheet metal bolt loosely mounted within the housing and having closed ends, a spring acting on the bolt to force it out of the housing, a curved fiat metal operating member freely passing from the front of the door through the door, housing and bolt and adapted to be turned in either direction about a horizontal axis, a plate through Which the operating member passes secured to the front of the door, an operating knob attached to the outer end of the operating member, the plate being retained between the knob and operating member and holding the operating member in operative relation to the bolt, and means on the bolt engaged by the operating member to retract 10 the bolt against the spring When the operating member is turned in either direction. In testimony whereof I afi'iX my signature.

ILAROLD BLYE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

